My friend Eddie drove drunk in high school and killed his best friend.

The loss of a buddy, the anger and devastation of family and friends, not to mention all the legal entanglements that resulted put Eddie in a mental state that lasted for years. At the core, and in the end, the most pervasive challenge was getting rid of the guilt and forgiving himself.

Years down the road, after Eddie had married and had children, he was still haunted by the crash. Then one day he opened up to a friend who was brave enough to come alongside Eddie and offer some advice. He pointed out that one’s inability to forgive one’s self has been scientifically proven to had adverse affect on one’s children – and if Eddie really loved his kids, he would learn how to let it go.

This piece of advice had an amazing affect on Eddie, who marks it as a major milestone in his road to wellness – all because someone was willing to go deep with him and care enough to care.

This Sunday you and I will hear an overwhelmed and overburdened Jesus ask his friends for help tending to the hurting people around him – people like Eddie.

Jesus knows there are a lot of Eddies out there just waiting for people like you and me to come alongside them.

So our challenge today might be: Whom around us needs a friend, a touch, a call, an email? How can we get in better touch with the challenges others are facing around us? How is Jesus sending us out to heal the hurting?